National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2010
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Jun 7, 2010 10:26:14 AM
The NCAA News
Mandi Schwartz
Yale's athletics program has issued an appeal to the NCAA membership to help find a cord-blood or blood-marrow donor for Mandi Schwartz, an ice hockey student-athlete who was recently diagnosed for a second time with acute myeloid leukemia.
Yale spokesman Sam Rubin said Schwartz needs a transplant to survive. The Yale athletics program is helping a local doctor who is spearheading a world-wide effort to find her either a cord-blood or bone-marrow donor (the effort has become known as the "Become Mandi's Hero" campaign).
Rubin said a match needs to be found within about 30 days. Schwartz currently is undergoing chemotherapy at her home in Saskatchewan but will be moved to a hospital in Seattle soon in anticipation of a transplant. Those interested can read more at http://www.yalebulldogs.com/mandi/index. A story describing her battle also appeared on NCAA.com.
Those in the U.S. who would like to explore whether they may be a match should visit the National Marrow Donor Program Web site at http://www.marrow.org/. That site will provide information how people can request a bone-marrow donor-testing kit or find a nearby bone-marrow donor-testing center.
"The process of becoming a life-saving donor is very simple and straightforward," Rubin said, "yet we have found that very few people know how easy it is. The bone-marrow donor test consists of a cheek swab. The process of donating umbilical cord blood involves donating the umbilical cord after childbirth in a way that is harmless for both the mother and the newborn."
He added that cord-blood stem cells currently are being used to treat more than 80 diseases and medical conditions, yet umbilical cords are often discarded by doctors and parents who are not aware of their potential benefits.
The "Become Mandi's Hero" campaign has arranged for umbilical cord-blood donors who are not matches for Schwartz to have the blood stored for potential donation.
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